


War and Peace

by unknowableroom_archivist



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Mystery, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-10-05
Updated: 2008-10-05
Packaged: 2019-01-19 17:07:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12414375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unknowableroom_archivist/pseuds/unknowableroom_archivist
Summary: Remus and Adalyn have both been asked to come back to Hogwarts as Professors in Harry's third year. Remus reminds her of everything she lost in the 1st war, and Adalyn is everything Remus ever wanted. How will they deal with the events ahead of them?





	War and Peace

**Author's Note:**

> Note from ChristyCorr, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [Unknowable Room](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Unknowable_Room), a Harry Potter archive active from 2005-2016. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project after May 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Unknowable Room collection profile](http://www.archiveofourown.org/collections/unknowableroom).

Chapter One: Lupine Instructors

She stood before the doors of Hogwarts, nervous and lost in a flurry of emotion she did not expect to rush forth. Her time as a student, at the notorious school of witchcraft and wizardry, were undoubtedly her fondest years to date; but with that fondness also came the pain of losing everything that the school had given her in those seven brief years.

So much of her life had been spent upon the grounds of Hogwarts, more than any child that had come through those ancient castles doors she was sure. That was still a fact that was disguised; no one knew of her earlier associations with the looming castle before her, and no one would, if she had anything to do about it. 

Deciding that fear would get her nowhere, Adalyn MacArthur gripped the handle to her trunk firmly and pushed open the wooden doors before her, leaving the cool night behind her.  

Even though it had been years since she had roamed the halls and corridors, the newest addition to the Hogwarts staff knew exactly where she was going. 

And for the first time in over a decade, Ada felt the pang and fulfillment of being home. 

As she walked and daydreamed about the times she had spent with her friends in the halls she was now walking, she became oblivious to the world around her. This caused a rare moment of clumsiness, when she very unexpectedly ran into another person while rounding her last corner on her way to the Headmasters office.

They crashed, sending both victims flying backwards. Ada tripped over her luggage, adding to the pain of her fall, whilst the other unfortunate soul landed with a very deep and rumbling thud on the stone floor.

“Merlin! Are you all right?” A pained male voice asked with concern. 

Ada didn’t even look to see who she barreled into before she replied rather testily, “Oh bloody perfect, I just love falling over.”

“I am sorry, did you hurt yourself badly?” The man said reaching down with his hand, offering to help Ada to her feet.

“No, no. Excuse my mood, I just...” As she accepted the mans hand and looked up, her breath caught in her throat, cutting off her explanation.

“Oh, I uh...” she stuttered, her eyes still glued to the face before her. 

“Hello Adalyn.” Remus Lupin said calmly, a hint of wonder in his husky voice. 

“Remus?”

He pulled her up, holding her arm as he helped her step over her fallen trunk. 

“Do I look that different?” he asked with a laugh.

“No, it’s just…well…what in Merlin’s name are you doing here!” she waved her hand widely in front of them. The act of which clearly affronted the man in front of her.

“I could ask the same of you.” he stated, letting go of her arm as they both backed away from one another, blatantly sizing one another up.

“I work here, you?” she said bluntly.

Before he had a chance to answer though, a jovial voice interjected their unlikely reunion. “Adalyn, you’re here! How wonderful! Ah, I see you’ve encountered our new Defense against the Dark Arts Professor. I assume that you both remember one another from your years as prefects?” 

Ada had never in her life been so happy to see her old headmaster.

“Professor Dumbledore, it’s so lovely to see you again!” she exclaimed as she hugged the tall wizard.

“I was on my way to your office, before I encountered Mr. Lupin.” Ada stated, sounding irritated by the chance meeting.

“Professor.” Remus corrected with a matching tone. 

The headmaster over looked their incivility and kept to his own agenda. “Well, why don’t I have the house elves situate your baggage while we are conducting our meeting?” 

“That sounds wonderful. As much as I hate to admit it, I am utterly exhausted from the trip.” Ada replied.

“Well, let us get started then.” Dumbledore stated with a nod to Remus, as he turned and walked down the hall. 

Remus nodded back the acknowledgment. “Goodnight Albus, Adalyn.” 

“Professor.” Ada spoke without looking back in his direction. 

Remus merely picked up his book that he had dropped, and started walking in the direction of his office.

“Bloody woman.” He muttered.

An hour later, Ada found herself wandering the halls again, sans luggage. She strolled with awareness this time, not wanting to have another embarrassing encounter. Her thoughts, thoughts that should be on her new position, were unavoidably on that of Remus Lupin. Upon entering the Headmasters office, she had littered him with questions about why he had decided to hire a former marauder, a man who had a connection with a known convict. A very well known, _escaped_ convict. She was silenced though with his assurances, as well as his predicable speech about why she shouldn’t judge the new Professor by what an old friend had done. 

_‘Leave it to Albus to put me in my place’_ she thought

It wasn’t Lupin as a person that made her skin crawl, it was what he symbolized. Ada had ardently refused to have anything to do with things or people that reminded her of the past. Sadly, for Lupin, he was the epitome of everything she had been trying to avoid. He and a certain third year that she had previously thought would be her only problem. 

She accepted the position, offered so graciously by Professor Dumbledore, in order to protect the boy in question. She had decided to put aside her pain to protect the boy that had almost avenged the deaths of his parents in infancy. 

It was again, while lost in her thoughts, that she missed the appearance of one Remus Lupin to her right. She jumped as she heard his voice so near her. 

“You really ought to pay more attention to your surrounding’s Adalyn.” Remus offered complacently.

“Lupin, have you added stalking to your long resume?” she chided.

“If it’s at all possible, your tongue has become sharper with age.” He said decidedly.

“May I ask why I am graced with your presence _Professor_?” she asked sarcastically.

“I want to try and clear the air between us, if you would be so kind.” Remus said angrily. 

Ada stopped and faced him, suppressing the feelings that overwhelmed her with the action. “What do you want me to say Remus?”

“Well, for starters you could let me in as to what I did to anger you.” He looked at her straight on, unflinchingly. 

“It’s not as if we were ever friends Remus.” Was all she could come up with in her defense, so she began to walk again.

“Be that as it may, we were still friendly toward one another.” He retorted with ease as he followed.

She stopped again, his statement making Ada feel enormously guilty for her aggressive attitude. That along with her talk with Dumbledore convinced her she was being a right cow.

“Your right, I….well…it’s just that it was a shock to see you again is all. I suppose I haven’t been handling it very well.” Even though she felt despicable for her behavior, she still spoke with a curt edge.

 

“Understandable. I was a bit of an ass myself.” He laughed.

Ada smirked as they continued the awkward walk down the corridor, trying her best to loosen up enough to accept the painful company she was enduring. _‘Its not as though_ he _did anything wrong’_ she reminded herself. Her thoughts began to wander again, but she was pulled back to reality by Remus’ voice.

“Have you seen him yet?” he asked.

She stared ahead, her body visibly stiffening. “No, have you?”

“He has Lily’s eyes, the rest is all James.” He spoke softly.

Before Ada could help it, tears were falling down her cheeks. Hating the fact that she now felt exposed, she hurried in the direction of her new residence and classroom, leaving a bewildered Remus behind her. 

Thanking the gods that Remus hadn’t followed her, she slammed herself against her classroom door as it closed behind her. Her tears flowed faster now that she was alone, her grief making her sink to the ground as she let everything flood over her mind. She knew coming back to Hogwarts was going to test her strength and make her face things she refused to face, but she really wasn’t prepared for the sudden rush of tears. 

She hadn’t realized how hard it was going to be. 

The next morning for the new Professor was a lazy one. Having the day to ready her classroom and settle in, Adalyn made good use of her time as she set about cleaning and organizing the old room. The last Professor of Ancient Runes had been the same one from her schooling so many years ago, therefore leaving the room in an old-fashioned state that she didn’t very much care for. Runes was impossibly boring for most students, a sad fact that she hoped to rectify with a light hearted classroom as well as her enthusiasm for the subject. It wasn’t until around eleven o’clock that her first ‘well wishers’ came to visit and introduce themselves. Luckily many of the staff decided to come in together at the same time, almost creating the look of an impromptu party in the Runes classroom. The sight of which made Ada laugh.

Around an hour or so later, Ada was becoming weary of so much company all at once. So when the chatty group of scholars became suddenly quiet, Ada was almost thankful. Almost. 

In her doorway stood Remus, with an unnerved looking Professor McGonagall beside him. They made their way inside, Remus casually trying to make a bee line for Ada. 

She stuck out her hand idiotically, not knowing exactly how to act after her embarrassing departure upon their last visit. “Good afternoon, Professor Lupin.” She said formally.

“Good afternoon Professor MacArthur.” He said with just as much formality. “I was wondering, do you have a moment? I would like to speak to you about…” 

Ada cut him off abruptly. “One moment Professor Lupin, Professor McGonagall!” she nearly shouted with excitement, as she bounded toward the woman. 

“Why, Adalyn! It is so good to see you back here again. Are you settling in all right?” 

The two women hugged, as they tried to converse quietly. “Good enough I suppose, but I would love a little time to wrap everything up. Will these people ever leave?” Ada half joked.

“Oh, you just leave clearing the place out to me dear. Take all the time you need to situate yourself.” Ada could sense the double meaning in her words.

“Alright!” Professor McGonagall clapped as she spoke. “Let us give the young Professor back her privacy and get on with our own work.” She practically yelled, authority oozing from her hard voice. 

 Ada politely said good-bye to all her well wishers, then turning to an uncomfortable Remus. 

“Well, what is it you wanted to talk about?” she asked as she moved toward him. 

“Albus told me this morning that I was to inform you about...” Again she cut him off.

“Being a werewolf?” she finished for him. 

If she could have taken a picture of his face at that moment, she would have made millions. 

“You knew.” He choked out.

“Since third year Remus.” She stated matter of factly. 

“Why….how…you weren’t frightened?” he spluttered out.

“I was at first I won’t lie, but…” She stopped, choking on her words. 

Remus sensed the shift in her demeanor, being as it was the same he witnessed last night when she bolted away in tears. 

“Are you alright?” he questioned.

She nodded mutely while her mind fluttered with memories. 

“Would you like a glass of water?” Remus offered, starting to worry. 

She shook her head, but Remus was watching her pale skin whiten further. Deciding to just take action, he took her arm and sat her down in a nearby chair. 

“Breathe, you need to breathe Adalyn.” He motioned back and forth with his hands feeling like a complete moron trying to gesture how to breathe.

It took a few minutes for her to calm down, relieving her panicked colleague. “I’m sorry, it’s just that….I hadn’t thought of that particular memory for awhile and it made me rather despondent. Thank you for helping me calm down.” She stood up then, indicating that their chat was over. 

“Are you sure you’re alright with working with someone like myself?” Remus asked insecurely, making Ada realize that he might have gotten the wrong impression by her behavior. 

“Remus, I am absolutely fine with what you are. You didn’t choose this, I know that.” She stopped and took a deep breath. “The memory had to do with someone else. Someone I rarely like to think about.” 

“Lily.” He stated matter of factly.

 She closed her eyes at the sound of her name, feeling pain envelope her chest. “Please leave Remus.”

“What?” he asked confused.

“Please leave.” She stated with a cool voice.

Without a word he made his way toward the door, stopping in the doorway. He recognized her behavior, he was the unrecognized King of avoidance. “It helps to talk about them. It hurts like hell to start, but eventually you feel better for it.” And with that he left, leaving Adalyn there to ponder his words. Words she knew to be true.

 

Love to know what your thinking......:)   


 

 


End file.
